Where the middle 50% lands.
Half earn between $58k and $189k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $269k, roughly 2.1 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.
| Percentile | Total comp | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 90th | $268,828 | Top 10% of earners |
| 75th | $188,878 | 25% earn more than this |
| 50th · median | $127,321 | The typical executive |
| 25th | $58,078 | 25% earn less than this |
| 10th | $16,830 | 10% of executives earn less than this |
How the package is built.
The typical pay structure across 254 organizations with full Schedule J reporting (39% of the 648 orgs in this slice). Each share is the average across orgs of the fraction of total comp that goes to this component, so the bar fills 100%.
The number in context.
Every row links to its own dedicated benchmark page.
All figures are median total reported compensation · IRS Form 990, Schedule J
Pay varies by state.
New York pays $41,434 more than the median COO compensation in arts, culture & humanities nationally.
The ten highest-paid arts, culture & humanities COOs by filing.
| # | Organization | Location | Total compensation | Filing year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Museum Associates | Los Angeles, CA | $1,043,104 | 2023 |
| 02 | Public Broadcasting Service | Arlington, VA | $850,594 | 2023 |
| 03 | Lyric Opera Of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $719,900 | 2023 |
| 04 | Robert Rauschenberg Foundation | New York, NY | $712,500 | 2023 |
| 05 | Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts Foundation | Richmond, VA | $636,112 | 2023 |
| 06 | Playhouse Square Foundation | Cleveland, OH | $619,569 | 2023 |
| 07 | Academy Museum Foundation | Beverly Hills, CA | $614,479 | 2023 |
| 08 | Shed Nyc Inc | New York, NY | $571,918 | 2023 |
| 09 | Wgbh Educational Foundation | Boston, MA | $550,255 | 2023 |
| 10 | International Spy Museum | Washington, DC | $520,230 | 2024 |
Total includes base, bonus, other reportable, and deferred/retirement compensation per Schedule J.
What does a $X org pay?
Adjust the slider to your organization's revenue. The median COO compensation for arts, culture & humanities nonprofits in that revenue band updates live.
{sector} {role} pay, answered
- How much does a Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit COO make?
- The median total compensation for a COO at a arts, culture & humanities nonprofit is $127,321, based on 648 organizations in IRS Form 990 filings. The middle 50% fall between $58,078 and $188,878.
- What is the salary range for a COO in Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofits?
- Pay ranges from $58,078 at the 25th percentile to $188,878 at the 75th and $268,828 at the 90th. The spread reflects differences in organization size, budget, and region within the sector.
- Is this Arts, Culture & Humanities compensation data reliable?
- Yes. It comes from IRS Form 990 filings, legal documents filed under penalty of perjury, not self-reported surveys. Figures cover 648 arts, culture & humanities nonprofits reporting a COO.
- Why does Arts, Culture & Humanities nonprofit COO pay differ from other sectors?
- Compensation reflects the typical organization size, revenue, and operating complexity of each sector. Larger, better-funded arts, culture & humanities organizations pull the upper percentiles higher, while smaller ones anchor the lower end.